If NASA faked the moon landings, does the agency have any credibility at all? Was the Space Shuttle program also a hoax? Is the International Space Station another one? Do not dismiss these hypotheses offhand. Check out our wider NASA research and make up your own mind about it all.

Slightly off-topic, but still relevant to rich people's hi-flying mania...

Apparently, one of the reasons (claimed in the below PBS / NOVA article) for the Concorde's demise was ...wait for it... 9/11 !

"Concorde eventually succumbed to the forces of economics, to a tragic accident in Paris that traced to a tire and fuel tank problem, and to the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, which killed a large number of the plane's best customers." http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/concorde/about.html

(Hat tip to "ttim", an e-mail pen pal who sent me the above NOVA article)

Slightly off-topic, but still relevant to rich people's hi-flying mania...

Apparently, one of the reasons (claimed in the below PBS / NOVA article) for the Concorde's demise was ...wait for it... 9/11 !

"Concorde eventually succumbed to the forces of economics, to a tragic accident in Paris that traced to a tire and fuel tank problem, and to the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, which killed a large number of the plane's best customers." http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/concorde/about.html

(Hat tip to "ttim", an e-mail pen pal who sent me the above NOVA article)

Nice one, ttim. It seems this is another way of saying the Concorde went broke because it didn't have any customers. If only you could invent people and have that make you money in some way. Wait a minute ...

"Investigators are trying to piece together how SpaceShipTwo's surviving pilot managed to escape the rocket as it disintegrated around him and parachute to the ground from an altitude virtually devoid of oxygen.Pete Siebold, 43, sustained just an injured shoulder when the Virgin Galactic spacecraft broke apart mid-flight and crashed in the Mojave desert last Friday, killing co-pilot Michael Alsbury, 39.Christopher Hart, acting chairman for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that is leading the crash investigation, said Mr Siebold did not exit through the cockpit's escape hatch.'We know it wasn't through there, so how did this pilot get out?' he said."

Now if people say again it was all a hoax? Why? And how can they cover this one up?

So what Simon, a couple of fruits like Justin Bieber bought a fake ticket to space. The question is did SS2 really crash and a pilot died and Siebold survived in a M 1 parachute rescue? Is there a reason to fake something here? The X15 did basically the same thing in 1962 but that was a one time project, the aircraft had double the power and was a small aircraft like a rocket, and damage from heat at M6 was extensive. How can a small aircraft like the SS2 do the same with half the power and 8 occupants in a composite plastic spacecraft?

He's back and smugger/phonier than ever. I would have thought a memorial for the deceased "space pilot" would be the center of focus. Then again, space folk don't much care for acknowledging actual human needs (poverty is real). Of course, art is cheaper than engineering, so that money never need existed to begin with. Power/illusion, or do people still think the US spent trillions on nuclear weapons and associated tech? "https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/02/19/richard-bransons-virgin-galactic-unveils-new-spacecraft/ * Bonus; Win a free trip to ImaginationLand if you can explain this lighting situation below:

One of the first stories Barack told me when he and Michelle arrived on Moskito Island was how, just before he became President, he had been surfing on a dangerous break in Hawaii. When he came in from an exhilarating session, the new head of his security team turned to him and said: “This will be the last time you surf for eight years.” For the next eight years he didn’t have the chance to surf, enjoy watersports or do many of the things he loved.

Only two choices here: a) Obama's head of security already knew he'd secure a second term as President when he'd only just won a first term, or b) shit journalism. Either way, the story is obviously total bollocks.

I haven't zoomed into the photos yet, but I'd be surprised if they all checked out as legit.

Honestly, in this made up story of windsurfing, the fictional character of the security agent is right. It would be insane to risk the life of the President or 'President-Elect' in an adrenaline sport accident.

Another part of the story of this far away Island I find hard to believe, is it would take like 15 or hours flight to get there each time. And then the same on the way back, and that is just in air-flight time. As much as these guys like their vacations, imo a real super rich guy would get something relatively close. Like in the Mediterranean.

aa5 » February 11th, 2017, 9:58 pm wrote:Another part of the story of this far away Island I find hard to believe, is it would take like 15 or hours flight to get there each time. And then the same on the way back, and that is just in air-flight time. As much as these guys like their vacations, imo a real super rich guy would get something relatively close. Like in the Mediterranean.

Not sure I follow your logic here. We've been told that Branson owns entire islands in the Caribbean, and anyone already in Los Angeles or San Francisco on business is only a few hours from Hawaii. Given these factors, why would you assume that Branson would be starting his vacations in Europe?

Obviously my query to you does not in any way mean I take these stories are believable.

For some reason I pictured the Islands he owns as being in South East Asia. But Islands in the Caribbean I must then admit, is a reasonable part of the story, like for the tech guys to go and meet up there.

Luckily for Richard Branson the decline in the music retail sales business doesn't seem to have affected him.